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  1. DonH50

    How Does the Output Voltage of DAC Affect the System's Sound Quality? Does it Matter if One is Using a Quality Preamp?

    Short answer: I don't know. But note the transformer's max input spec does not matter unless you are pushing it; what you need to know is the voltage required at the input of your amp to produce full-scale output. Transformers get very nonlinear (distorted) when overdriven so applying no more...
  2. DonH50

    How Does the Output Voltage of DAC Affect the System's Sound Quality? Does it Matter if One is Using a Quality Preamp?

    Yes to the voltage, with the caveat that amplifiers typically deliver more voltage (with higher distortion) than their rated specifications. As for ESLs, older Quads would not handle a lot of power, but I have not kept up with their current line. Sound Labs, Sanders, perhaps other ESLs can...
  3. DonH50

    How Does the Output Voltage of DAC Affect the System's Sound Quality? Does it Matter if One is Using a Quality Preamp?

    400 W into 8 ohms is 56.57 Vrms and given 28 dB(25.12 V/V) gain requires 2.25 V for full-scale output. I would try the DAC's 2 V output setting. That provides 399 W, barely under rated spec, without overdriving or significantly underdriving the amplifier. Using 0.6 V only provides 28 W from the...
  4. DonH50

    How Does the Output Voltage of DAC Affect the System's Sound Quality? Does it Matter if One is Using a Quality Preamp?

    What is the input sensitivity of your amplifier? The equations get a little complicated, but I'd start by choosing the DAC output that most closely matches the amp's rated input, erring on a little more voltage from the DAC.
  5. DonH50

    How Does the Output Voltage of DAC Affect the System's Sound Quality? Does it Matter if One is Using a Quality Preamp?

    Specs for audio components are usually Vrms (and Arms for current). Power is normally average power in W (there's no such thing as rms power). The noise floor is often a lower limit on DAC performance, so the only practical way to provide higher SNR and SINAD (~THD+N) is to increase the output...
  6. DonH50

    It Finally Happened: Not One, but TWO Heart Attacks

    Scary tale, glad you are recovering!
  7. DonH50

    ARC SP-6A Tube Preamp

    I doubt an extra 10~20% in capacitance is enough, may be something else going on. Without tools and techie knowledge it may be hard to figure out the root cause; it may be a combination of things. Could even be tubes drawing a little more current that, added to everything else, is just enough to...
  8. DonH50

    ARC SP-6A Tube Preamp

    A bit of technical babbling, got long, sorry, but may be helpful for some. Many DIY mod folk do not realize adding a lot of decoupling (power supply) capacitance also increases the current and places stress on the power supply. In addition to blowing fuses, regulators (SS or tube), wiring and...
  9. DonH50

    Benchmark ABH2 Mono Block Configuration

    Ah, I was looking at your comment from the wrong perspective. The actual (speaker) load impedance does not change; the impedance at the speaker terminals is the same whether the amp is bridged or not. I agree, the effective load seen by the amplifier does change, however, and is halved. I...
  10. DonH50

    Benchmark ABH2 Mono Block Configuration

    Bridging doubles the output impedance, not halves it, but yes damping factor is halved. DF = Zload/Zamp and Zamp is doubled. For short peaks most clipping is voltage-based IME.
  11. DonH50

    Benchmark ABH2 Mono Block Configuration

    I used one many years ago and have touched on them now and then since but not recently. They are very reliable, old-school amps (heavy and hot). Sonically they bested Crown that was all the rage for high power back then and also Phase Linear (the least-reliable amp I have ever owned). Bryston is...
  12. DonH50

    Benchmark ABH2 Mono Block Configuration

    I have little exposure to either amp. Benchmark has lower distortion and noise and draws less power on average so runs much cooler. It has pretty extensive monitoring for protection and clipping. Crosstalk is very low so I do not see a second amp increasing separation, nor understand how...
  13. DonH50

    ART 27A driving Quads

    Hmmm... IIRC they would not take as much power as the 63's, but are even less sensitive, so I would still favor a larger amplifier. No point in going over ~100 W, though, as they would self-protect around that point (again, IIRC).
  14. DonH50

    ART 27A driving Quads

    Yah, that is why I said "tap/version"; probably should have just said "version" but figured a lot of folk might be used to "tap".
  15. DonH50

    ART 27A driving Quads

    They have fairly low sensitivity and widely varying impedance. A low-power amp driving a low-sensitivity speaker means you need to sit fairly close and/or keep the volume low. They have a high impedance peak at low frequency and fall to pretty low impedance at very high frequencies, like most...
  16. DonH50

    ART 27A driving Quads

    I have no experience, but it seems like a relatively poor match unless you sit close and listen at fairly low levels. Be sure to use the 4-ohm tap/version of the ART27A to drive those Quads.
  17. DonH50

    Can a Linear Power Supply Inject Noise Into its AC Circuit?

    Yes. A "linear" supply still has a bunch of nonlinear circuit elements (like diodes) inside and will create current spikes (and thus potentially voltage spikes) on the line. Of course, the power supplies inside your components do the same thing, and using a LPS on a streamer or other digital...
  18. DonH50

    Used MG-1 questions

    Fast! Do NOT use slo-blo; Magnepan explicitly says that in all their literature. The two types are "fast" and "slow"; the "normal" term means "fast".
  19. DonH50

    Used MG-1 questions

    I believe so. Normal fuses are usually just one thin strip; slow-blow typically have a coil and often a resistor in side (in parallel with the fuse link). It should be stamped on the fuse head if not on the back panel of the speaker. AFAIK all Magnepans use fast-blow 3AG fuses and they warn...
  20. DonH50

    Used MG-1 questions

    IIRC, the fuse is only for the tweeter section, so that would reduce the volume and make it sound "dull" or "less clear". I had a pair but that was 1979, been a while...
  21. DonH50

    Used MG-1 questions

    MG-I's are quite old at this point; Magnepan ceased production of the original model ca. 1980 or so IIRC, and the final MG-Ic was around 1990 before the 1.x line rolled out (then SMG, MMG, etc.) At moderate to low volume, move your ear across the panels and ensure the tweeter section is working...
  22. DonH50

    R.I.P. Jim Winey

    Just heard today that Jim Winey passed away yesterday, January 11, 2024. Sad day... :(
  23. DonH50

    Jeep Grand Wagoneer with McIntosh

    My wife's non-Grand Wagoneer also has the McIntosh sound system. She seems to like it, but don't think she's ever used the big McMeter display in the consol.
  24. DonH50

    Atma-Sphere Class D Mono blocks

    There have been several attempts at a "power DAC" but AFAIK none of them performed well or proved successful for driving high power into speakers. They have been restricted to low-power applications. They may look superficially similar, but there are actually a lot of differences (devils in the...
  25. DonH50

    Atma-Sphere Class D Mono blocks

    Well, it sort of has to change following the loop gain bandwidth and all that jazz, but the change will (should) be inaudible... Distortion should be in the mud. I suppose I should have said "potentially" or "audibly", spoke (wrote) too loosely for a technical crowd. Yah. A lot of angst comes...
  26. DonH50

    Atma-Sphere Class D Mono blocks

    The last statement may well be true, but discovering exactly the cause can be tricky. A lot of people point at NFB like it is some sort of boogieman leading to all sounds of sonic issues, but properly implemented it is transparent. TIM is a real problem with feedback, along with instability and...
  27. DonH50

    Atma-Sphere Class D Mono blocks

    Yes, that is why the sentence starts with "A pair". That provides a 3 dB increase in SPL at the listening position and is included in the numbers. I said "out in the room" so that is without room reinforcement, a worst-case scenario, 6 dB loss for each doubling in distance. Typical rooms...
  28. DonH50

    Atma-Sphere Class D Mono blocks

    A pair of 85 dB/W/m speakers out in the room need about 1 W to achieve 80 dB SPL for a listener 8' away. Depending on the source you need 17~20+ dB headroom for peaks, and a 20 dB increase means you need 100 W from the amplifier. Obviously horns need only a fraction of that power, but I suspect...
  29. DonH50

    Atma-Sphere Class D Mono blocks

    My position is that the lower the distortion the better. I prefer to not change the source material. Nelson Pass claimed low levels of even-order distortion was preferred by listeners. There was an JAES paper, by a Japanese group I think, with similar claims using a small (~10) group of...
  30. DonH50

    Atma-Sphere Class D Mono blocks

    Harmonic distortion terms lead (mathematically and physically) to intermodulation distortion (IMD) products when more than one signal frequency is present. Low odd-order IMD products fall near the original frequencies where they are readily masked. Even-order IMD products fall far away and are...

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